Crank-shaft casing



July 19, 1932. M. BIRKIGT CRANK SHAFT CASING Filed June 10. 1929 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 July 19, 1932. i M. BIRKIG 1 'i GANK SHAFT ,cAsING Silea June 1b. 1929 "Patented July die, 1932 :imno Bramer, or Bois-COLOMBES, pannen (iRANK-SHAFT oAsING.

Application led J'une 10, 1929, Serial No.

` The V present invention relates to crankshaft casings and, more particularly, to those `of the type commonly employed in internal 1 combustion engines.

i One of the objects of the invention is to accordance with the invention; i

FigUZ is a section taken on line 2-2 of f Figi; Y

Fig. 3 1s a section on line 3-3 of Fig. l; Figs. 4 and 5 are sections taken on lines 20 4 4 and 5 5, respectively, of Fig. l.

Referring tothe various figures of the i drawings, there is shown a casing assembly i adapted to be used on a multicylinder or V- type motor consisting of a pair of castings a, alforming` the upper and lower halves ofy the `casing and including the corresponding halves b of a plurality to bearings for a crank-shaft (not shown) supported by intermediate walls c and in the extremities of the casing assembly7 said walls c having hollow chambers cl formed therein permitting the circulation of ain-a pair of passages e, f, connected tangentially to the interior of `chambers d and assuring circulation of air y 135 via inlet-s and outlets g; vg turned either towards or away from the front of the vehicle (or las shown with one turned towards the other away) ,-a passage #permitting circulation of air between upper and lower chambers d of each half of' the cranlr-case,bolts i traversing the bottom of the lower casing a and screwing into upperV element a1,-a

lubricating conduit j traversing lower chamber d,-'-and ay Vlubricant feed conduit 7c.

345 From the foregoingit will be seen that when the motor is mounted on a vehicle, air will enter by way of one orifice g, circulate `around bearings and lubricating conduit j,

` i inside chambers l of the casing via passages p e, f and h, and discharge through the second 369,745,` and 'in' Beigiun March 14, "1929.

opening g". n the eventthatthe motor is stationary, a pump or any other Ventilating device "(not shown) may be attached to one orifice g to assure'air circulation. It is to be understood, of course, that ifthe stationary engine is equipped with a ventilating Vfan assuring movement of the air past thecasing, orilices g willi function to effect circulation inside chambersd inthe same manner as when the motor is mounted on an aeroplane co or vehicle. 'Nor need air inlets g, g be both mounted `in the casing bottom. One may be so mounted land the other in the top casing so as to obtain'- a draft;

. The term supporting element as used in the claims is intended to cover the whole portion shown in Fig. 3, that is, the wallie, the chamber d, the bearing support b, and the portion of the wall which supports the conduit j. That is, the shells a and a form the outer walls of the casing while the cross walls supported by these shells form the supporting element.

Motors fittedwith crank-cases of the type described are suiiciently well cooledto permit substantial reductions in bearing dimensions and considerable saving in lubricant consumption.

Obviously, the invention is not limited to` the use of air as a cooling fluid. Water, oil or any other desired fluid may be circulated through chambers d by any appropriate pumping system.

What I claim is 1. In a crank shaft casing, a shaft housing including a pair of shells adapted to house a rotating shaft, abearing positioned inside said shells and in spaced relation to the walls thereof, a supporting element extending between said bearing and said shells, said supporting element having a passage formed therethrough in proximity to said bearing and communicating with thev atmosphere, whereby air may circulate through said passage and through the spaces between said bearing and said shells to cool said bearing.

" 2. A structure as defined in claim l in combination with a lubricating conduit Vpositioned inside said supporting element and communicating with said bearing. 10

3. In a crank-case, a pair of shells eachV forming a portion of a bearing, each of said shells being shaped to provide a chamber e X ternal to the bearing portion, each of sald shells being also provided with passages permitting thefloW of air from the chamber of y one shell to the chamber of the other, said chamber communicating with the atmosphere, said chambers enclosing substantially the Whole periphery of the bearing, and bolts Y Aextending Vbetween said -shells,1 said bolts traversing said "shells in proximity to said bearingk and Within Vthe 'geometrical'V limits f plane transverse to the Y axis of the bearing. u f 4. A crank shaft casinglcomprising afpair of said chambersV in a specification. Y -V MARC BIRKIGT. 

